Terry has never racially abused another player, lawyer tells court

England football captain John Terry today denied racially abusing Queens Park Rangers player Anton Ferdinand as the case opened at Westminster magistrates' court.

The multimillionaire Chelsea star, 31, is alleged to have called the defender a "f****** black c***" during a match.

It is understood that Terry, who has vowed to "fight tooth and nail" to clear his name, was instructed by his legal team not to appear in court today. Lawyers entered his plea.

The £160,000-a-week player faces a maximum £2,500 fine if found guilty of a racially aggravated public order offence during the Chelsea v QPR match at Loftus Rd on October 23.Prosecutor Tony Connell told the court he would be relying on the expert testimony of a lip-reader and video evidence to prove the allegation.

Terry's lawyer, George Carter-Stephenson, said they would challenge the lip-reader's assertions with their own experts, and would call a number of "character witnesses" on Terry's behalf.

He said the married father of two had "never racially abused another player" and had simply been questioning the accusation. He also said a changing-room discussion between Terry and Mr Ferdinand cast a different light on the QPR player's later assertions.

He said: "Mr Terry accepts repeating back a phrase of abuse which he believes Mr Ferdinand may have accused him of using.

"It was repeated back purely to question it, as Mr Terry was shocked to be accused of it. "He then went on in forceful and colourful language to reflect his disgust at the allegation. Mr Terry has never racially abused another player."

The court was told no one heard the alleged remark on the pitch, and that Mr Ferdinand was only made aware after footage was posted on YouTube.

It took more than an hour to fix a trial date after discussions about Premiership schedules, the European Championships, pre-season training and a holiday booked by Mr Ferdinand.

District Judge Howard Riddle said a five-day trial will take place at the same court on July 9.

He said it was important Terry, of Oxshott, received "no special treatment" despite the fact a trial would normally be held within six weeks of a first hearing. He said: "It is serious for any citizen facing an allegation, and it is serious for him.

"If Mr Terry and Mr Ferdinand were the only people affected the court would fix an earlier hearing date, but there are potentially a large number of people who are likely to be called to give evidence in the trial."

In a statement through his solicitors, Terry said he was "looking forward" to clearing his name. The statement said: "Mr Terry has consistently and resolutely maintained that his well-publicised remarks were made in the belief that he was being accused of racist abuse by Mr Ferdinand.

"Mr Terry denies making any racist statement and will establish in court that he is not guilty of such offence."